The Sexual Exploitation of minors through images: non-contact Violence

Abstract

Sexual violence and the exploitation of children through images involve the depiction of a child engaged in real or simulated sexual activities, or the display of intimate parts of their body for sexual purposes. Both national and international legislation generally refer to such images as pornography (Unicef, 2014).

The term ‘child pornography or pedpornography’ can now be considered inappropriate as it downplays the severity of the abuse. Therefore, the term 'child abuse images' is preferred here, as it more accurately reflects the nature of this crime. "Non-contact sexual violence against a child" refers to any form of non-physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct, whether isolated or persistent, that involves unwanted references to any part of the body used for sexual activity or to the child's sexuality, including conduct facilitated by technology.

These include: "exposing a child to sexual abuse and pornography, even through technology; live streaming of a child’s sexual abuse; online solicitation; sexual grooming, and so on." The focus of the intervention is on examining the shift in perspective on the issue, the different types of non-contact violence, the effects on children, and the main risk factors. It also highlights the indicators and sources currently available to measure the phenomenon emphasizing the need to bridge the information gap on this topic. These forms of violence have severe, lasting effects and remain difficult to measure. Bridging current data gaps through systematic and harmonized collection is crucial to guide prevention, strengthen victim support, and protect children in both digital and offline contexts.

This article frames non-contact online sexual violence against children as a continuum that includes child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) grooming, sexting/sextortion, live-streaming abuse, and emerging AI-generated content. These phenomena are situated within the international and EU policy context of the Lanzarote Convention (Council of Europe, 2007) and Directive 2011/92/EU, as well as its trajectory of revision in 2024.  At the international level, a set of minimum rules for criminal offences, penalties, and cooperation is settled, by supporting cross-border enforcement and information sharing to detect, investigate and combat these forms of violence against children. At the national level, Italy’s law enforcement agencies (LEA) provide data and information on this topic on a regular basis, strengthened detection capabilities and enhanced cross-border coordination to prevent harm and improve victim support. Data are also gathered by the national hotline victims' support. LEAs (Polizia di Stato, Carabinieri, Guardia di Finanza) and national child-protection hotlines data are essential for giving the material’s transnational nature, but it’s also crucial to have a set of minimum common indicators to measure this fast-changing phenomenon.

The article stresses the need for standardized Italian data schemas aligned with the UNICEF-ICVAC (International Classification on Violence Against Children) taxonomy, by providing regular anonymized reporting, and robust data-sharing protocols across LEAs, prosecutors, hotlines, and other relevant sources of data, both at institutional and non-institutional levels. Measuring these emerging forms of violence against children presents unique challenges. These challenges are key both for understanding the current data landscape and identifying entry points for action to address data gaps.

Practical implications include establishing a national cross-agency task force, integrating platform takedown statistics with investigative data, and expanding frontline professional training on grooming, sextortion, and AI-generated content.